Violet

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 14 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Violet is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name29K records spelled Violet5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Viõlët, Violët

• a separate given name9.3K records spelled Violet2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Zambia, India

  Also written Violét

• Polish given name3.2K records spelled Violet10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Croatian

  Also written Виолет

• Finnish given name2.1K records spelled Violet4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, Hungary, United Kingdom

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Viõleť

65 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Violet is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A plant or flower of the genus Viola, especially the fragrant Viola odorata; (inexact) similar-looking plants and flowers.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Swedish, Violet är en engelsk form av → Viola eller lån av den engelska växtbeteckningen violet ’viol’. Namnet är känt i England sedan medeltiden och är ett tidigt exempel på hur växtbeteckningar tagits i bruk som förnamn. Stavningarna Vailet och Vajlet, som efterliknar det engelska uttalet, förekommer också i Sverige.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In German, from a color nickname; 'violet'

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In German, Huguenot name

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In German, Hugenottenn.

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Violet Oakleyb. 1874USAmerican artist (1874-1961)
• Violet Bonham Carterb. 1887GBpolitician (1887-1969)
• Violet Jessopb. 1887ARTitanic crew member (1887–1971)
• Violet Attlee, Countess Attleeb. 1895GBwife of Prime Minister Clement Attlee (1895-1964)
• Violet Dicksonb. 1896English botanist, writer, and Orientalist (1896–1991)
• Violet Brownb. 1900JMJamaican supercentenarian (1900–2017)
• Joan Robinsonb. 1903GBnot in their usual nameEnglish economist (1903–1983)
• Ruby Payne-Scottb. 1912AUnot in their usual nameAustralian radio astronomer (1912-1981)
• Violet Chachkib. 1992USAmerican drag queen and burlesque performer
• Violet McGrawb. 2011USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 784 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Violet?

We estimate roughly 73 thousand people bear Violet (counting its spellings and scripts) across 6 countries in our records.

In which country does Violet have the most bearers?

We estimate about 72 thousand people bear Violet in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled violet.

Where is Violet most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Violet is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 3.9 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Violet compared with other names?

In the United States, Violet is the 822nd most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Violet a male or female name?

Violet is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Violet mean?

Recorded meaning: From the name of the flower; see lolanthe, Yolanda